Weymouth mayor asks governor to reject air quality permit for Spectra

Thursday

Mayor Robert Hedlund is asking Gov. Charlie Baker to reject Spectra Energy Enbridge’s application for an air quality permit that is before the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The air quality permit is needed by Spectra Enbridge to construct a 7,700 horsepower compressor station in the Fore River Basin.

Hedlund stated in a letter to Baker that a recently completed state health impact assessment of the basin reveals there are levels of formaldehyde and benzene which frequently exceed daily and annually allowable limits.

"Granting an air permit would allow the natural gas companies to put even more toxic pollutants in an area already suffering higher than normal rates of cancer those toxins cause," he stated.

Baker ordered the health impact assessment by the agencies in July 2017 in response to concerns raised by town officials and foes about a proposed compressor station near the Fore River Bridge.

State agencies taking part in the health review include the Department of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Protection.

The DEP has until Jan. 11 to decide whether to issue an air quality permit to Spectra Enbridge under an agreement with the firm.

The deadline for any appeal by Spectra on the state’s decision is June 28.

A state health impact assessment report states there will be no substantial health changes from direct exposure to a proposed compressor station in the Fore River Basin, except by elevated sound levels while it is being built.

The review also notes adverse changes in the basin may be possible through an increased perception of risks related to, "perceived pollution levels and less comfort with using the nearby outdoor space," which includes a walking path near the Fore River Bridge.

The report was released Jan. 3 by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and it has been greeted with much skepticism by the Fore River Residents Against the Compressor and local officials.

Air quality tests in April 2017 by the former Braintree-based GeoLabs and Phoenix Environmental Laboratories of Connecticut found levels of benzene, methylene chloride, 1.2 dichloropropane, 2-hexaanone, alkanes, hexane, acetone and ethanol that exceeded DEP standards, according to Dr. Curtis Nordgaard, a consultant for the Fore River Residents Against the Compressor.

Industries located in the Fore River basin include Citgo Marine Petroleum Terminal, Twin Rivers Technologies, the Braintree Electric Light Department, a sewage pelletizing plant operated by the MWRA, a hazardous waste transfer and treatment facility owned by Clean Harbors and small oil storage facilities and tanks owned by Calpine Corp.

Weymouth has filed a variety of legal challenges to the proposed compressor since Hedlund took office in January 2016.

The town has spent almost $700,000 in legal fees to prevent the construction of the proposed compressor and a four-mile natural gas pipeline which would extend from the basin to a hookup in Pond Meadow Park in Braintree, according to Hedlund.

Hedlund stated the federal Natural Gas Act leaves state and local authorities with diminished power to protect the health of citizens and their natural resources from the impact of the proposed compressor.

"Fortunately the DEP’s Clean Air Act authority remains, and you can use that state legal authority to prevent worsening of the already overburdened air quality in the area of the Fore River," he stated. "Governor, one of our last hopes to prevent the risks of this proposed compressor station is you. Please do not allow the natural gas companies to expose the residents of Weymouth, Hingham, Quincy, and Braintree to even greater quantities of cancer-causing toxic air pollutants. Thank you for considering the health effects of this project before rejecting its lethal consequences to people we represent."

Alice Arena, leader of the Fore River Residents Against the Compressor, said the DEP has ample authority to deny an air quality permit to Spectra Enbridge.

"No matter how you slice it, these facilities can leak, and the smell of methane will permeate the whole area," she said. "You have noise from these facilities. They (gas companies) will lie to you and say they have sound insulation, but they are noisy. This particular facility will vent heat out onto a walkway. There is a whole host of concerns."

Lawmakers ask the governor to deny air quality permit to Spectra

South Shore legislators stated concerns about the site for the proposed compressor as being too small in a joint letter to Baker.

"With the elevated levels of formaldehyde and benzene made apparent by both independent and state-contracted public health surveys, we have the scientific data needed to reject the air quality permit," stated the lawmakers. "The four-acre parcel size, adjacency to a public waterway, and dense residential surroundings are factors that put grave responsibility on our shoulders to challenge Enbridge Energy."